The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Eckaileenxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Encinitas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars having flower bracts with desirable colors, uniform plant habit and excellent post-production longevity.
The new Poinsettia is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Poinsettia cultivar Windark, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/087,917. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within a population of plants of the parent cultivar in a controlled environment in Encinitas, Calif., in December, 1998. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract colors and good plant form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal cuttings taken at Encinitas, Calif., since December, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Eckaileenxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Eckaileenxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar.
1. Inflorescences with recurved red and dark pink bi-colored flower bracts.
2. Dark green-colored recurved leaves with burgundy-colored petioles.
3. Compact, uniform and upright plant habit.
4. Natural season flower maturity date is December 5 for plants grown in Encinitas, Calif.; response time, about 10 weeks.
5. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the mutation parent, the cultivar Windark, in flower bract coloration as flower bracts of plants of the cultivar Windark are solid red in color.